Broccoli Cheddar Soup (vegan!)

This is one of my absolute favorite soups! I've made it a few times and have adapted the recipe from Kristy Turner's "But I Could Never Go Vegan" (one of my favorite cookbooks) to make it even quicker and easier. Simple, creamy, tasty.. tastes just like your traditional thick and hearty broccoli cheddar soup but without the dairy and just a few wholesome ingredients - perfect to fill a bread bowl, alone as a main meal, or as a side. Make a big batch to have lunch leftovers all week long. Try it out and let me know what you think!

 

Ingredients:

1 lb. frozen broccoli (or fresh) - if you don't have enough, you can sub kale or spinach as well
2 cups veggie broth
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups of Chickpeas OR Cashews
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon white miso paste
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

Put a medium stock on med-high heat and add your broccoli with the veggie stock and water for it to cook until soft.

In a blender, blend together your chickpeas/cashews (if using cashews, add some water to the blender to help them blend more smoothy) with the nutritional yeast, lemon juice, miso, liquid smoke, garlic, paprika and turmeric. Blend until as smooth as possible and add more water if needed.

Once the broccoli is soft, add your creamy blend of ingredients to the pot and continue to stir until well combined. Use an immersion blender to blend up the broccoli into the soup, until it's as smooth as you can get. If you prefer large chunks of broccoli you can blend it less.
*(As an alternative if you do not have an immersion blender, you can COOK the broccoli first thing by steaming or baking, and the blend it with the other ingredients in the blender before cooking with the broth and water. Either way works, but I found this way faster!)

Add salt and pepper to taste. Hollow out a round loaf of fresh bread to make a bread bowl to scoop it into, or serve with some fresh bread on the side.

Enjoy!